Realization
by elizabeth-houdini3618
Summary: Bella and Jacob spend an afternoon working in his garage, and decide to take a walk down to First Beach. I think this is how their first kiss should have happened. Bella POV.


**A/N ****I'm very proud that I actually finished a whole Bella/Jacob fic – and by whole, I mean… well, it's not long, but at least it's complete :) **

**This has no timeline and I really don't know when it's set. However, Bella has had Edward in her life, but she has healed almost completely, and chosen Jacob. You can decide for yourself exactly where it fits. I suppose it's almost AU. **

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I leaned back against the door of Jacob's Rabbit and let out a contented sigh. He lifted his head to appraise me, and quirked one black eyebrow.

"Am I boring you?" he asked anxiously, wiping his large hands on the front of his jeans, and preparing to stand up. I quickly shook my head.

"No, of course not – just the opposite. I just feel so happy whenever I'm around you". I smiled encouragingly at him, and his broad lips pulled into a grin. Satisfied with my answer, he quietly went back to tinkering with some bit of metal under the car.

I watched him as he worked, his large fingers skilfully screwing and unscrewing different pieces of metal with ease – though they looked far too clumsy to be handling anything so small. He twisted something into place and grinned up at me triumphantly.

"There – one thing finished," he remarked. Jacob considered me for a moment. "Hey, Bella, I could use some help you know". He wiggled his eyebrows at me, and I studied him carefully, trying to determine if he could possibly be serious.

"Under there?" I gestured wildly to the dangerous looking pieces of scrap metal underneath the car. "Are you sure?" I shot another furtive glance towards the very sharp, ominous looking metal car frame, and tried not to imagine all the damage I would certainly inflict upon myself and the garage.

"Of course," he scoffed, and then added teasingly, "Don't worry – I won't let you take out the entire garage".

I just sighed and kneeled down beside him. No good could possibly come of this.

"Okay. What do I do?"

"Alright. This is very simple". He proceeded to explain to me how I was going to take the odd looking screws out of a cylinder shaped thing, and use them to attach some washers to a pipe. I must have looked somewhat wary, because he chuckled, and patiently showed me how to hold a funny looking screwdriver.

"No – don't hold it like you're shaking someone's hand. That's too wimpy". He took it from me and wrapped my hand around it the proper way. "Yeah, that's better. Get a good grip on it, and just keep applying pressure". He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, and put his too-big hand over mine. As always, the heat seemed to seep through my skin and I'm sure my entire body temperature shot up a few degrees. I focused instead on the little screw, and let his hand guide mine in undoing the first one. When it clattered to the ground, he looked up at me, his eyes wide with mock amazement.

"Wow, you did it! I'm impressed," he said, sounding overly enthused. He held up his hand again for a hi-five, but pulled it away when I was about to slap it. I pouted, and instead smacked him upside the head with as much force as I could muster. He just laughed at me, and handed me back the oddly shaped screwdriver.

"You know," I scowled and gestured violently with the offending tool, "If I got creative, I could probably think of somewhere else to stick this". I paused for a moment to let my threat sink in. The smirk slipped from his face for a second before it was replaced with a broad grin.

"Sure, sure," he muttered, and motioned for me to keep working.

"I am warning you now, Jacob Black. I am way more dangerous than I look… you do not want to mess with me". He pretended to shudder. I just scowled again, and set to work on loosening the next screw.

"What happened to 'I always feel so happy around you Jacob!'?" he asked in an insanely high, squeaky voice. I ignored him.

"Eww…" I muttered, as I pulled my fingers out from under the car. They were covered in some kind of sticky goo.

"Geez, you are such a baby," he scoffed. Without thinking, I reached over and wiped my hands on his pants.

"Oh gee, thanks," he mumbled sarcastically, but he seemed oddly pleased nonetheless.

"Sorry," I said feebly, "I always see you wipe your hands on your pants".

"Naw, it's okay. That's why I wear these when I'm working," he said lightly, gesturing to the oil stains on his faded jeans. I went back to loosening the last screw. It fell to the ground and I brushed my hands off.

This continued for a while as I attempted to work with the tiny pieces of metal. Jacob was fairly patient though, and whenever I struggled, his large hands were there to guide mine. With his help, I eventually finished. I stood up and stretched my legs, leaning back against the car again.

"Hey, thanks for the help," he said, and he sounded genuinely appreciative.

"No, thank you," I grinned, "That was fun". He went back to work for a few minutes, and I watched him carefully. My eyes slid over his face – his lovely, russet coloured skin, his strong jaw, and broad lips. I admired his dark eyes especially. They were intense – his brow furrowed in concentration – but I knew how warm they could be. When he smiled, it easily extended all the way up to his eyes, and they would light up. Jacob had laughing eyes. He was generally a boisterous, laughing person. I silently appraised his broad chest as well. As usual, he wore no shirt – crazy werewolf, I grinned – and the light streaming through the garage door seemed to make his beautiful skin glow. I sighed again, and it caught his attention.

"Wanna go for a walk? I need to stretch out a bit anyways…" He looked up at me with hopeful eyes.

"Uh, sure. That sounds good". He hopped lightly to his feet, dropping whatever he had been working on with a 'clunk'. He grabbed my hand, and I really couldn't be bothered to say anything. I liked it anyways – it was nice and warm. He led me carefully out of his garage – probably worried about me tripping and having to explain another broken bone to Charlie – and towed me around back of the house.

Neither of us said anything, but our feet led us wordlessly along the path to First Beach. Jacob had dropped my hand when we got onto the road, and I was already missing the familiar and reassuring warmth. I silently gave up on trying to define the friendship boundaries, and reached out to grab his hand back. I slipped my fingers through his, and he glanced towards me, looking smug. He gave my fingers a gentle squeeze, and lifted our joined hands to his face, gently brushing the back of my hand across his cheek, and then along his jaw line. He held it against his face for a moment, then sighed and let our hands drop, keeping them twined.

We finally made it to the beach, and walked towards the gnarled old tree at the edge of the water. I wondered how the brittle old thing was still standing, but I supposed it must be tougher than it looked. Jacob let go of my hand again to pick up some rocks and hurl them into the water. They soared into the fog, and were quickly lost to my eyes. I sighed, and sat down on the old piece of driftwood beside the tree. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jacob plop down into the sand beside me. He stretched out his long legs in front of him, and dropped his head into his hands.

"What's wrong?" I asked into the silence, though I wasn't sure if I really wanted to know the answer. He gave a deep sigh and turned to look at me, his eyes full of questions.

"I'm just… tired, I guess. Well, tired isn't the right word. More like frustrated. With myself, though. I… we're so close, Bella. You know I love you. And I know that you're in love with me. It's just that you can't see it yet". He paused as if to gauge my reaction. I think the realization sunk in, then. I knew I loved him. I think he knew I knew. Why were we even still pretending? He continued, "I can see us being together. It's so _obvious_. And Bella, if you don't want that, it's fine with me. I hope you'll still want me around as a friend. But I feel like I'm pretending… that our relationship doesn't go as deep as it does. Because I know that this –" he broke off to wave his large hand vaguely at the space between us, "is something more". I could see the hurt in his eyes, and went to sit beside him.

"Jake, you know I know. I do love you Jake. It's just… so hard to accept it. It's nothing against you, of course. I suppose it's just hard to move on…"

"Bella, why are we doing this?"

"I give up Jake," I exasperatedly threw my hands into the air to make a point, "You've been picking at my resolve ever since we met, and I suppose you're just too _irresistible _for me. This is stupid," I grinned up at him, "because you're right. We could – or, will – be happy together. We already are". Wow. I can't believe I just said that. I already felt my cheeks reddening. He laughed, and then sighed loudly.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to say that". He looked out to the water, and I could see his eyes glowing. I turned in the sand to face him, and reached out to touch his cheek softly. I pressed my palm to his skin, enjoying the warmth. Without really thinking, I leaned in to press my lips to his, gently, experimentally. Jacob's eyes fluttered closed, and he placed his hands on either side of my face, keeping me close. He looked at me then, for a moment. Or rather, he seemed to look _into _me. His eyes were so alive, and burning with what could only be love. His eyes flicked to my mouth, and he leaned down to capture my lips again.

He kissed me without hesitation, tracing the shape of my lips with his tongue, and I kissed him back with as much enthusiasm as I could. My fingers twisted themselves into his shaggy hair – he was right, I did like it longer – and I clutched him to me. His hands ran under my chin, over my neck, and down my shoulders. One came to rest on my waist, and the other moved up again to the back of my head. I could feel his hand scorching my skin, even through my shirt.

He seemed to slow down then, and kissed me more softly. Both of his hands slid up to hold my face between them. His hands were rough, and I smiled against his lips, thinking back to working on his car with him this afternoon. He brushed one thumb over my cheekbone, and pressed his lips lightly to mine again. He pulled back hesitantly to look into my eyes, but I guess I wasn't quite ready to release him yet. I greedily pulled his face back to mine, and caught his lower lip between my teeth. He kissed me once more, and I moved my mouth to his jaw, then along his throat. I kissed my way back up to his lips, and sighed against his mouth. Finally, I pulled away, a little embarrassed. I have absolutely no self-control.

To avoid looking at his face, I slid myself into his arms, and settled back against his warm chest. I could feel his heart pounding, and allowed myself a small smile. He was breathing heavily in my ear, but moved to kiss the top of my head tenderly. His lips certainly lingered on my hair longer than would be necessary for friends, but I supposed that didn't really matter anymore, because we weren't just friends. I sighed. I don't think we ever were. I twisted in his strong grip to wrap my arms around his neck, and pull him into a hug. He tightened his arms around me, and I pressed my lips to his shoulder.

We stayed that way for a long time. It was probably the best hug in the history of the universe. I did my best to communicate all of my emotions with that hug, and I think he must have understood. I could practically feel him radiating happiness. I liked that, and vowed I would always do whatever I could to keep him happy like this.

For my part, this was probably the happiest I'd been in a long time. I felt like my heart could burst at any second, and I just couldn't keep myself from smiling into his shoulder.

Eventually, we had to head back to his house, because it was getting late out. It felt so good to have cleared the air between us. The atmosphere was light, and Jacob whistled cheerfully as we all but bounced along. He grabbed my hand again as we walked, and it surprisingly felt no different than before. Jake had been right. This was completely natural.

I was ecstatic – Jacob seemed to be perfect, and made me feel completely and utterly whole. I kept throwing sidelong glances at him as we walked, and he just kept grinning at me. I quickly discovered that I didn't like to be away from his lips for too long. Several times, I had to tug him on the arm to stop him in the middle of the road. It was difficult – I had to stretch up on my tiptoes, and I'm sure he was going to get a crick in his neck from bending down so far – but it could be done. I pressed my lips quickly to his, lingering only for a moment, but it was enough. I pulled away and sighed happily, continuing to walk along, though I was slightly dizzy.

We made it back to his house, and Billy seemed to be able to sense that there was something different between us. He seemed pleased, though, with this turn of events. I guess everyone had seen this coming but me.

Jake and I watched TV for a while, mostly just snuggling together on the couch. I had already discovered my favourite way to sit with him – leaning back against his chest, with one of his arms over my shoulder, and his other hand resting on my arm. He seemed to like resting his chin on my shoulder, and I enjoyed whenever he would turn his head and press his warm lips to his neck.

He did this now, and I sighed at the contact. I felt him grin, and he moved his wonderful lips to my shoulder, gently sweeping my hair out of the way. Suddenly, the phone rang, and I jumped slightly, immediately pulled out of my Jacob-induced stupor. Jake reached across me to pick up the phone, and informed me that Charlie was waiting for me at home.

"But it's nice to know I have this effect on you," he added. I smiled grudgingly as he walked me out to my truck.

"Seriously, though," he continued, "you'll come back tomorrow, right?"

"Of course," I sighed happily for the millionth time that day, "I really don't think I could stay away from you, Jacob". His face broke into a wide grin, and he leaned down to kiss me one more time before helping me into the cab. He leaned casually against the window frame, and I ran my fingers through his hair before starting up the engine.

"Tomorrow, then?"

"Tomorrow".

Well, at least Charlie will be pleased.

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**A/N Mmmm… I suppose it's somewhat cheesy. What can I say? I'm a sucker for this kind of fluffiness ) I can't seem to write anything serious, or darker (or longer, for that matter). **

**Aha… I'm **_**really **_**not a mechanic. Please don't flame me for all the pathetic references to screws and random bits of metal. Lol. Just enjoy it for what it is ;)**

**Please R&R… I will give you a werewolf shaped cookie and a hug! 3**


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